User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Bill Burr
a Audio Enthusiast

Date Reviewed: July 10, 2010

Bottom Line:

I bought 2 VRM60s, 2 VRM50s, and 1 VRM Center channel back 8-9 years ago from Tweeter. If you like bright speakers, you will love them. They have wonderful tonal quality especially in the mid -high range, and have a decent base response especially if bi-wired. Overall, they are the best sounding bookshelf speakers that I have heard.

I love these speakers, I fell in love with them the first time I listened to them and spent a few months looking at others, but nothing compared as far as I was concerned. My previous speakers were DCM, and I like these better.

Up until this weekend, I was powering these with a Sony STR-DA-555-ES. I just bought an Onkyo TX- SR604 and I feel like these speakers are new all over again. I am not an audiophile and I don't know the technical differences between the two receivers, but these VRMs are now sounding sweeter than ever. I am in heaven!!!!

These speakers were 45% off at Audioadvisor when I bought them late in '06. Since then, I have not seen them anywhere online, and Boston Acoustics has come out with a new product in this category. I guess I was lucky to purchase them when I did. I'm quite happy with them.

The VR-M60 is a crisp, forward leaning speaker, designed, seemingly, for both music and home theater. I use them for music 85% of the time, and I am pleased with the amount of detail that I now hear, although I understand the complaint by some that they are "bright." I happen to like a bright, aggressive speaker, as this quality makes the music more exciting. I do not find these speakers fatiguing. Those who do may have a problem in the preamp or source sections of their systems. Fatigue usually comes from mild clipped or incoherent wave forms, not from "brightness" alone.

I bi-amplify my VR-M60s with an Adcom 535II (tweeters) and an Adcom 545II (woofers), and I fill out the bottom end with a small, but rather over achieving Boston sub (CR400). I also use an Adcom preamp (GTP-500II). For a time, I used an ancient Pioneer 9100 integrated amp (circa 1974) as my preamp and to power the tweeters. The sound then, strangely, was a bit brighter than with the newer Adcom equipment, though still not fatiguing.

These speakers took some time to break in. Out of the box, the soundstage was extremely flat. I was a bit shocked, actually. But the soundstaged opened up as the speakers ran in and relaxed, and by about 200 hours they had reached their enduring characteristics. The soundstage still seems a bit flat, but I have found that placing them closer to the wall helps, probably because they are rear ported. There may be a better placement for them that I haven't discovered yet.

What recommends these speakers, I think, is the level of detail they deliver. While I am not experienced with high end speakers, I have owned Paradigm Phantoms, Acoustic Research PS428 towers, and a set of custom made bookshelf speakers by Kevin Blair of Kalamazoo, MI. Kevin's were the only speakers that delivered anything like the level of detail of these Bostons, which may still have more to offer given a better preamp. (Note: While these Bostons are better balanced and sweeter to listen to, cudos to Kevin Blair for building a truly impressive set of bookshelf speakers that are still in my family!)

So let me summarize by recommending these speakers at any price up to their MSRP.

I finally found a bookshelf speaker i can live with and enjoy in the Boston Acoustics VRM-60.Thier lively characteristics really make music come alive.They really do nothing wrong.Thier midrange is incredible but what sets them apart from other similiar priced speakers is thier bass response.I have never had a bookshelf speaker so satisfying in that it sounds so full.It easily overpowers my 18X16 bedroom with accurate window rattling bass response.This strong bass response gives good recordings incredible ambience.They play all types of music with superb accuracey.As opposed to many high speakers that are too anaylitical...these are not and add real emotion to music.I just can't say enough good things about them.I have had many good speakers in the last 15 years including Paradigm,Snell,NHT,Signet,PSB,Mirage,Wharfedale,Infinity.These are the best.I had a pair of Paradigm Studio 20V3's and to my ear these Boston's are much better.The Paradigm's were good but to laid back and always sounded like something was missing.The Boston VRM-60's are an absolute must audition if your looking for new bookshelves.